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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed this book! I appreciated Arden's writing style and her cast of characters. Most of the characters had distinct personalities that allowed me to have specific feelings toward them. That is something a lot of books fail to do for me, where the characters have no personality of their own and I'm unable to care about them. But Arden was able to give us characters with distinct personalities even if they did not appear often in the book.
I'm not too familiar with Russian fairy tales so I enjoyed that aspect and I loved learning the Russian words and context from the glossary and author's note.
I also really, really appreciated that Vasilisa was not a copy and paste heroine who is always bold and fearless and is somehow plain and gorgeous at the same time. I loved that she was an imperfect child and adolescent, but we got to see her grow and learn.
I think some of the people voicing an opinion one way or another about the religious aspect of the book aren't considering what normal life was like in medieval eastern Europe. Some people are saying real world religion doesn't have a place in fantasy...I disagree with that, I feel like some readers just don't like it and others do.
I also don't believe Arden was trying say all religion leads to corruption. It's just something she incorporated in the book and the way I interpreted it was setting the values and expectations that surround Vasilisa and how to fantasy element intertwined with natural world.
I will say the last few chapters of this book kind of lost me, especially after the part where. The fantasy element really amped up here and, maybe it's because I'm unfamiliar with Russian fairy tales but I had trouble understanding what was going on toward the end.
I'm not too familiar with Russian fairy tales so I enjoyed that aspect and I loved learning the Russian words and context from the glossary and author's note.
I also really, really appreciated that Vasilisa was not a copy and paste heroine who is always bold and fearless and is somehow plain and gorgeous at the same time. I loved that she was an imperfect child and adolescent, but we got to see her grow and learn.
I think some of the people voicing an opinion one way or another about the religious aspect of the book aren't considering what normal life was like in medieval eastern Europe. Some people are saying real world religion doesn't have a place in fantasy...I disagree with that, I feel like some readers just don't like it and others do.
I also don't believe Arden was trying say all religion leads to corruption. It's just something she incorporated in the book and the way I interpreted it was setting the values and expectations that surround Vasilisa and how to fantasy element intertwined with natural world.
I will say the last few chapters of this book kind of lost me, especially after the part where
Spoiler
Pyotr leaves to offer aid to the fires
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think I appreciated this book even more on a second read. Such an immersive and mystical fairytale.
I've been picking away at this audio book for what feels like forever. It's... pretty good? It kind of feels like several books all smashed together. There's absolutely nothing surprising about it. You basically know who to hate and who like immediately. Very evocative writing, though.
This book was AMAZING. I loved every single thing about it. The only thing that would have made this better is if it had been snowing outside and I had read it in front of a roaring fire.
I'm dnf-ing this book halfway through. I don't know if the narrator is Russian or speaks Russian, but the accent sounded kind of bad and ruined the story for me. Maybe I'll get to a e-book one day.
A creative and imaginative world with lyrical prose.
Absolutely brilliant! The writing is very engaging and the words just leap off the page. The characters are all multifaceted and intriguing. The world is mysterious and compelling. Everything just works with this book, it's absolutely fanstastic.